TOWN SUSPENDS 2 EMPLOYEES

MARK SPENCER; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT

Two town employees who work at the transfer station have been suspended without pay for selling recyclable scrap metal.

Patrick Vincent, a full-time worker at the transfer station, was told in a letter dated March 18 that he would be suspended for four weeks without pay for selling the items from the transfer station in violation of town policy.

In a letter dated March 28, Evelyn Rybicki, a part-time worker, was told she would be suspended for one week without pay for "assisting securing items of value."

Chief Administrative Officer Paul Fetherston, who ordered the suspensions, declined to release much additional information, including how much the workers profited. Fetherston released the letters after The Courant filed a request under the state Freedom of Information Act.

"As town employees, we all have the obligation to be diligent in our ethics," Fetherston said. "We're here to do a job, not personally profit."

He said an investigation began in November after the town received a complaint about a specific incident. He declined to say how long the workers had been taking the recyclable metals.

The town has a contract with a company that, at no charge, picks up metal from the transfer station, including material that has no resale value.

"The more people are gleaning off the valuables, the more likely we would have to pay to have it all removed," Fetherston said.

Vincent, who has worked for the town since 1991, and Rybicki, a town employee since 2005, declined to comment when reached at their homes.

The letters say that town officials met separately with the two several times in December and January. Vincent denied the allegations twice, but then admitted they were true. Rybicki denied the allegations once, but called back the next day to ask for another meeting, at which she said the allegations were true, according to the letters.

Fetherston said he was hopeful that both employees could return to work and "take the necessary steps to correct this behavior."

The investigation is continuing, Fetherston said, but he declined to say whether other town employees face discipline.